Hoops: Western 89, Waterloo 81; UW looking to next year

After about six minutes of play, it seemed like Waterloo would be behind by 10 points more or less throughout yesterday's game. As you might expect from a last-place team, the level of play wasn't inspiring.

The third quarter provided some excitement as the Warriors outscored the Mustangs 28-18, mostly thanks to their newfound ability to connect on long passes. The team and crowd went nuts when they pulled ahead 61-60 as time ran out in the third. However, Waterloo fell behind again in the fourth with more of the same offensive lapses that have played a big part in their 15th-place standing in points scored in the 16-team OUA. A disgusted Dan White sank a three-pointer at the buzzer. Nobody was in a mood to celebrate that quarter-ending basket, however.

It's little consolation to the Warriors that White was the leading scorer on either side yesterday with 22 points. (Western shot 52.5%, but they had more traveling calls than I've ever seen in OUA basketball.) In fact, White shot 57% from the field, which is exactly twice as high as his cumulative percentage since the winter school term started (he was 22 for 44 in two games at Lakehead in early January). Well, at least the Warriors' last three games are all at home, and they'll get decent attendance, right?

Not really, no. The first game against Laurier, presumably a good draw, conflicts with Waterloo's playoff hockey game (also against Laurier). The second and third games are scheduled for the first weekend of reading week, and good luck on student attendance there. They would only have one weekend game if not for the gender-specific extreme weather last Wednesday, which postponed the men but not the women.